UConn must get athletics finances in order

Even with the eye-poppingly bad numbers UConn has put up in recent years, the school’s recently released athletic department deficit was noteworthy. The red ink jumped to $47.2 million in the last fiscal year, the school said, up from previous years and continuing a long trend of negative numbers.

Still, even with those unfortunate results, there are many extenuating circumstances. And there’s reason to believe that matters could, and should, start to turn around soon.

UConn’s latest gap, which was covered with $42.6 million in institutional support and $4.6 million in student fees, had increased from $43.5 million in 2020 and $42.3 million in 2019. It also includes a full year marked by the global pandemic, which ran roughshod over everyone’s carefully laid plans and probably set back UConn’s moves toward athletic solvency even further.

Like everyone else, UConn athletes played much of the last academic year in front of empty stadiums. That means a major decline in ticket revenue, while the 2020 football schedule was canceled altogether. Ticket sales alone would not have made up for the shortfalls, but it’s also unfair to make judgments based on such an atypical year.

Many of UConn’s financial problems go back a decade or more, to the era of major conference realignment. After committing to a major football program, UConn found itself left behind as other schools made the leap to more lucrative conference situations. Where it had once envisioned itself as one among several Northeast football outposts, UConn found itself in a conference with faraway schools like Tulsa and Tulane.

Bad football, fading men’s basketball and accompanying lack of fan interest led the school on a downward slide. Pandemic aside, much of that situation has been turned around.

UConn left its unwieldy home in the American Athletic Conference, joining the Big East once again for most sports and competing against more regional rivals (which cuts down on travel costs). Men’s basketball is good again, and the women never stopped being great, though Geno Auriemma’s team has been hurt badly by injuries this year. Fans are back in the seats to cheer on, and spend for, the state’s greatest sports attraction.

Then there’s football. There’s likely been too much invested to scrap the sport, at least in the near term, so the school has been trying to make it work. The university has hired a real, albeit expensive, head coach to lead recruiting efforts, and hopes are high that fan interest will follow. It’s not unprecedented — when UConn football was competitive, fans were happy to support the team. Conference independence, which is necessary because the Big East doesn’t include football, also opens possibilities for scheduling.

Amid contract disputes with UConn faculty and other belttightening measures, it’s understandable that the athletic department budget can raise some ire. But it’s part of being a major public university, and athletic success has led to increased interest in the school. It’s not as if all the money spent is wasted.

Still, UConn needs to continue taking steps to bring its athletics department finances in order. As the pandemic (hopefully) comes to an end, it’s time for an end to massive deficits.

Bad football, fading men’s basketball and accompanying lack of fan interest led the school on a downward slide. Pandemic aside, much of that situation has been turned around.